trebek shreds his akchilles tendon chasing down a thief. the question is, did the thief know she was pick on one bad canadian game show host? it's "way too early" for this. good morning, i'm willie geist and this is "way too early" the show that watches "jeopardy" only on teen week so it can feel better about getting all the answers right. you're listening live on sirius xm radio. shoot me an e-mail, let me know what you're doing up at this hour. or tweet me, you've got your@williegeist or text to 622639. where is everybody? 622639. we'll read the best responses later in the show. the next 30 minutes will be your cram session for this thursday july 28th. a lot going on today, including

the dow down almost 200 points around all the debt discussion in washington. the front page of "the wall street journal," markets swoon on debt fear. plus a day after republicans invoked ben affleck movie "the town" in the debt debate, the white house raises the stakes going with sophie's choice. we'll have the latest on the ongoing imdb fight a bit later. but first let's get to the news, here at 30 rock in new york city. with just five days to go before the august 2nd deadline, the house is expected to vote today on speaker john boehner's plan to raise the debt ceiling. house republican leaders also plan to hold a news conference later today to talk about that vote. it comes after boehner released an amended version of his bill which originally was questioned by the nonpartisan congressional budget office, but now cbo says boehner's revised proposal will cut deficits by $917 billion

over ten years. that's $66 billion more than the original plan. the new bill is expected to save $22 billion in the year 2012. cbo also reviewed senate majority leader harry reid's proposal saying it would result in greater deficit reduction than boehner's competing plan. the reid proposal would extend the debt ceiling for a longer period of time than boehner's, which calls for a two-step process. something the white house has said it will not accept. an aide for the speaker responded to all this news saying, this report, the cbo report, shows the senate plan for what it is, a grab-bag of gimmicks that gives the president a blank check. many house republicans are still hesitant to back boehner's bill. speaking on laura ingraham's show yesterday, the speaker confirms he had some tough words during a closed door meeting. >> is it true that you told some of the republican members this morning that you need to get your a-word in line behind this

debt ceiling bill? >> i sure did. listen. this is time to do what is doable. and this bill isn't perfect. i told the members that the last couple of days. but that's what happens when you have a democrat-controlled senate and a democrat in the white house. >> meanwhile, mitch mcconnell reportedly still in talks with vice president biden over how to avoid default. speaking on the floor ed why, mcconnell reaffirmed that he is behind boehner's plan. >> i'd like to reiterate my very strong support for speaker boehner. the house republican leadership and this plan to prevent default and reduce washington spending. i also want to commend the speaker for his efforts and for his determination. >> if the boehner proposal does make it to the senate, democrats insist it does not have a chance of making it to the president. >> the speaker's plan is on life support. and it's time for him to pull the plug. we need to move on to other plans that actually have a

chance of passing. >> it is not a solution, and it will not pass. every democratic senator will vote against it. i don't know how many more times we need to say that, but it's true. >> so all that work by boehner perhaps for nothing. schumer and reid not alone. all 53 senate democrats are united against the house bill, sending a letter to speaker boehner yesterday saying his plan will never pass the senate. but many conservatives, as you know, also unhappy with boehner's plan. tea party senators sent a letter of their own to the house saying they oppose boehner's plan. senator john mccain had a tough response to the naysayers, especially singling out those freshmen. >> some members are believing that we can pass a balanced budget amendment in this body with its present representation and that is foolish. that is worse than foolish. that is deceiving. many of our constituents. that is not fair. that is not fair to the american

people. to hold out and say we won't agree to raising the debt limit until we pass a balanced budget amendment to the constitution. it's unfair, it's bizarre-o. and maybe some people have only been in this body for six or seven months or so really believe that. >> john mccain talking to those kids. up on capitol hill yesterday, members of both parties taking shots at their rival's plan back and forth, clearly staying on message. >> nobody believes that the boehner problem is anything more than a big wet kiss to the right wing and i mean the tea party. that's who i mean. it's too bad his caucus is being run by such a small number of people. >> what about the president's plan? when i asked the president's plan, his aides point to a speech and a veto threat. with all due respect, congress can't vote on a speech. and a veto threat won't prevent default.

>> we are urging the republicans now to step back, put their party caucuses aside, put their pledges to grover norquist aside, put their caucus pledges to one congress manor the other aside, and put this country first. >> it's unfair of the president of the united states to lead from behind. it's unfair of the president of the united states not to come forward with a specific plan that perhaps could be considered by both bodies, but only to go out and give lectures. >> we are not going to hold this country hostage to the tea party. that's where it's at. you know, those folks over there, about 80 of them and maybe even more of those republicans, they pledged to grover norquist. i want to pledge allegiance to the united states of america and that's what we all should be doing right now. >> senator boxer right there referring to grover norquist, you've been hearing his name a lot over the last several weeks. he will join us later on

"morning joe." . deficit game blame is not playing well on wall street. the indexes worst one-day drop in two months yesterday. let's look at the markets, anna edwards live in london for us. good morning. any better today? >> good to see you, afraid not, at least from a global perspective. the markets were down 200 points, 1.6% lower in just one day. the markets concerns in the short term very much focused on whether or not washington is going to reach any kind of agreement to increase its debt ceiling. what that means for markets is either worry about if we don't have an increase in the debt ceiling, what does that mean for government spending in the short term and what does that do to u.s. growth. >> we've heard repeatedly about the threat of a downgrade in the united states credit rating, the head of standard & poor's speaking yesterday about the potential of u.s. default. what did he say? >> yeah, talking about the

possibility of a default and saying he doesn't think this is likely. even if we were to see the debt ceiling not increase and even if we saw downgrades to the u.s. credit rating by various agencies, essentially the s&p agency, he's saying he does not think it's likely the u.s. will default on its obligations to its creditors essentially. >> let's hope he's right. anna edwards live in london, thank you so much. al qaeda leader ayman al zawahiri releasing a seven-minute monologue posted to extremist websites, he tells protesters in syria that they are part of a broader liberation of muslim lands. he also claims washington is seeking to replace bashar al assad with a leader who protects american and israeli interests. it is believed to be his first public message since he was named al qaeda's new leader after u.s. forces killed osama

bin laden in may. the united states army chief medical facility is closing its doors. the historic walter reed medical center retired its flags yesterday after more than a century of treating u.s. soldiers. jim miklaszewski looks at the place that helped heal so many and suffered its share of scandal. >> reporter: walter reed has been on the front lines of military medicine, caring for americans wounded in war. the commander at walter reed. >> this has been such an important place of healing. >> reporter: it's also an invaluable piece of american history. >> we're entering the sitting room of the president suite. >> reporter: dr. john deere says others flocked here for his military advice. >> george s. patton got down on his knees on this rug and he was

blessed before he went off to war. >> reporter: president dwight eisenhower died here in 1969. and for decades, every commander in chief has been drawn to walter reed in times of war. over the past ten years, 18,000 americans wounded in iraq and afghanistan have been treated here. critical care nurse rosemary ettinger is inspired by their spirit and determination. >> young soldiers, all they want to do is get better to get back to their troops. >> reporter: a scandal broke out for poor housing conditions for outpatients which led to improved care military wise. and where do the wounded go now? the more seriously injured will be moved to a new high-tech rehab center at bethesda naval hospital. and what happens to walter reed? the 113 acres here is prime real estate. the city of washington gets most of it for commercial development and housing. even a center for the homeless.

>> but the colonel is confident the legacy of walter reed will live on. >> once you've been at walter reed, you can't get walter reed out of you. it's a part of your spirit. >> walter reed closing its doors officially in about a month and will shift its operations to a new facility that will be called walter reed national medical center with campuses in maryland and virginia. still ahead on "way too early," the umpire who as we said yesterday made the worst call in the history of organized sports in the 19th inning two nights ago provides an explanation. hear what he had to say. and who's back in the middle of another call last night. sports is ahead. plus, alex trebek isn't just a mean quiz show host who belittles those who give incorrect responses. he's also a tough as nails crime fighter. wait until you hear what he did to a burglar who broke into his hotel room. that story and a check on weather when "way too early" comes back.

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5:45 in the morning, looking at a beautiful live picture of the sun coming up in the new york area somewhere. let's get a check of the weather from nbc meteorologist bill karins. hello, bill. >> tropical storm don formed last night. >> don. >> are you afraid of don? >> sounds like a guy in a bowling league. >> you're not afraid. maybe he'll buy you a beer. don is heading to texas in about 36 hours, that's why it has our attention. but this is a very small storm, very unorganized at this time, and the odds of becoming a hurricane are looking less and less as every hour goes by. the good news is you want a tropical storm sometimes because it can bring beneficial rains. we've been talking about the heat and drought in texas all

summer long, so we're actually happy this is heading towards texas. the forecast has shifted even further south overnight, now it looks like the beneficial rains will miss the houston area. we're still hoping we can get enough from corpus christi to brownsville, maybe san antonio. so that's what we're watching. otherwise, heavy rains in the great lakes, thunderstorms in chicago, warm in d.c. today but tropical storm don heading towards texas late friday night. >> we'll keep an eye on it. thanks. angels starting pitcher ervin santana is 0-6 lifetime against the indians heading into yesterday's game. it looked like the trend might continue. first inning, a wild pitch by santana. perfect game. cabrera comes in to score. indians take the lead without getting a hit and we mentioned the hitless part for a reason. ervin santana gets cabrera swinging in the fourth. indians still hitless. they got a run but hitless.

santana gets hem in tlp in the strong throw to first. still no hits for cleveland. as the game goes on, santana only gets better. in the eighth, strikes out the side. started to feel it. still has the no-hitter going. and then with two outs in the ninth inning, santana gets michael brantley to fly out to center. the angels win 3-1 as santana throws his first career no-hitter, a no-hitter, gave up a run but didn't give up any hits. the first angel to throw a n no-hitter in 27 years. and an update on the controversial inning against the pirates and braves, julio lugo called safe despite being out by a country mile. yesterday the umpire who made the call issued the statement. on one particular play i was able to see lugo's pant leg moved ever so slightly when the swipe tag was attempted by mckenry. there you have it.

barely admitting he missed the call. last night, umping over at third base. first inning, big play right off the bat. prado hits one down the line. he tries to stretch it into a triple. jerry is the man on the spot. what's the call this time? punches him out and it looks like he got it right this time. i guess he got it right. i don't know. fourth inning, pedro lvarez. i'll eyes on the ump for another close play at the plate. nice tag there. alvarez called out. this time, bases are loaded, david ross delivers the hit and braves win 2-1. and we can report to you now that the streak is over for the mariners. feelic hernandez on the mound for the m's. scoreless in the top of the

third. dustin akly with a shot into the gap. suzuki scores, in the fifth inning, a lot of offense in the mariners who haven't had much of it all season. bases are loaded and it's a single to shallow left. a run scored, and great throw by brett gardner. and the play made at the plate. later in the fifth, more heat striking out curtis granderson to end inning. hernandez went seven innings with five strikeouts. these are awfully long highlights for the mariners game. seattle up 3-1, bases loaded. we know what happened. they won the game. long day for the yankees. mariners win 9-2 and break their losing streak of 17 games. what about the phillies barnicle? quick report.

>> phillies. >> phillies win. and also front of the "new york post," you sign a deal with the mets and what do you do? top of the hour on "morning joe," john boehner's new debt ceiling bill goes to vote, but they've said his plan is doa. where does that leave us and the president in all of this? and when we come back, we'll huddle around the watercooler to check out the battle scars on alex trebek after he chased a burl letter out of his hotel room in california. "way too early" coming right back. ...was it something big? ...or something small? ...something old? ...or something new?

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during all this back and forth about the debt, you keep hearing the letters cbo, that stands for the congressional budget office. the group charged with telling democrats and republicans just how much they think they're saving with their deficit plan. crunching the numbers, if you want to sound smart today, tell your friends, founded in 1974, the cbo was mandated to provide nonparn and timely analysis to help with decisions on the economy and the budget. let's huddle up around the water cooler for the very latest. in the i'm calling it the imdb

debate, we showed you have the clip yesterday. republicans using the movie "the town" for some inspiration. >> i need your help. i can't tell you what it is. you can never ask me about it later, and we're going to hurt some people. >> who's car are we going to take? >> that clip was used in a meeting used to fire up troops. that movie choice did not sit well with chuck schumer. >> the republicans played a clip from a cops and robbers movie called "the town." in the scene, they chose to inspire their house freshmen, one of the crooks gives a pep talk to the other. right before they both put on hockey masks, bludgeon two men with sticks, and shoot a man in the leg. the protagonists say people are going to get hurt, but they have to go ahead and do it anyway.

ladies and gentlemen, this is your house republican majority. >> there you go. okay. so now the white house did the republicans one better. jay carney ramping things up, said, i'll see you "the town" and raise you "sophie's choice." of course the 1982 film starring meryl streep where she made a horrible decision between two children during the holocaust. >> movie analogies are popular these days. you create a situation where you have real people who suffer and choices then have to be made and it's a "sophie's choice," right? who do you save? who do you pay? that's an impossible situation that this country has never faced and should never face if congress does what it was elected to do. >> there you go. you've got "the town," and "sophie's choice." it's become an expression people

use for impossible choices. all right. alex trebek, you've been waiting 25 minutes for this story. finds himself in trouble. an intruder breaks into his san francisco hotel room on tuesday evening. why is this gentleman on crutches? because he leapt out of bed, threw on his underwear, chased her down the hallway, she emerged from that little room where they have the ice machine. he said, what do you think you're doing, lady? she said, i'm visiting a friend. he said, oh, no you're the no. you were in my room. >> i woke up and saw a figure in our hotel bedroom and a moment later i got up and saw that the door was being held open by a wad of tissue and i opened the door and looked out and i saw a woman walking away. i put on my underwear and ran down the hall and i said, what were you doing in our room? she said, i wasn't in your room. i said, what were you doing up there? she said, i was visiting friends. and i said, no, you weren't. she bolted, ran down the hall, i chased her and i didn't get more

than 25 feet before my right achilles tendon ruptured, and i crashed to the ground. >> and then trebek went on the next day to host the national geographic world championship. that's just trebek being trebek. and there's the woman, lucinda moyers who was arrested for her crime. while you're awake, your bleary-eyed texts and tweets are moments away. act my age? -why? -why? -why? [ female announcer ] we all age differently. roc® multi-correxion 4 zone moisturizer with roc®retinol and antioxidants. lines, wrinkles, and sun damage will fade. roc multi-correxion. correct what ages you. roc multi-correxion. a vacation on a budget with expedia. make it work. booking a flight by itself is an uh-oh. see if we can "stitch" together a better deal. that's a hint, antoine. ooh! see what anandra did?

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